Mechanical and morphological studies of sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone)s for potential application in fuel cell membrane

Abstract

Two groups of synthesized sulfonated poly(ether sulfone)s with similar structures but different size of repeat units were selected. Investigation of the properties of these copolymers with different sulfonation contents for application as fuel cell membrane was the main aim of this study. These groups of copolymers showed different thermal behavior, mechanical properties, dimensional and oxidative stability, ion exchange capacity, water uptake, and proton conductivity. Structure–property relation was surveyed, and the copolymers showed acceptable results for use as fuel cell membrane. The swelling ratio of the copolymers was in the range of 3.3–6.6%, and the proton conductivity of them was about 0.020–0.077 S/cm at 25°C. These data were comparable with Nafion 115 with 8.15% of swelling ratio and 0.085 S/cm of proton conductivity. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.